Los Angeles: The members of the Los Angeles Police Commission, in partnership with the Los Angeles City Commission on the Status of Women (LACCSW), will announce their plans to develop a "Status of Domestic Violence in Los Angeles" report at the Police Commission meeting on October 5, 2004 at 9:45 am at Parker Center, 150 North Los Angeles Street, Room 146.

This report will provide statistical data on domestic violence calls, arrests, adjudication, injuries involving weapons, and homicides involving victims as well as officers. An additional benefit of the report will be the identification of areas in which the City can improve in terms of additional education, intervention, training, and police resources needed.

October is recognized as National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. By conservative estimates, four million women in the United States are assaulted by their intimate partner. Approximately 4,000 women die each year at the hands of a spouse or intimate partner. Los Angeles tracks more than 50,000 domestic violence cases a year and prosecutes an average of 900 cases annually.

According to Los Angeles Police Commission President David S. Cunningham, III, 70% of all calls forservice are domestic violence related. The recent death Officer Ricardo Lizarraga, who was killed in February while responding to a domestic violence call, serves as a chilling reminder that domestic violence calls remain the most dangerous calls for service, placing officers at an increase risk of injury and harm every day.

"We have placed a high priority on domestic violence in this upcoming year," said Commissioner Cunningham. "Our goal in combining our efforts with the Los Angeles City Commission on the Status of Women will focus on how we can reduce the number of domestic calls for service and how we can improve officer safety in responding to those calls."

Police Commissioner Corina Alarcon, Founder and Executive Director of Women Advancing the Valley Through Education, Economics and Empowerment, the largest transitional home for battered women in California, will oversee the development of the report.

"Domestic violence is the number one public safety issue impacting women and girls in the City of Los Angeles," said Commissioner Alarcon. "The emphasis this Commission has placed on eradicating domestic violence is not merely lip service. It is has been incorporated in our mission statement and we are accountable."

For nearly 30 years the Los Angeles City Commission on the Status of Women has been working to educate the public and policy makers about the impact of domestic violence in our communities and in the workplace.

"I am pleased to work with the Police Commission in developing this report," said Paula Petrotta, the Executive Director of the Los Angeles City Commission on the Status of Women. "Getting a clear picture of the status of domestic violence in our city will greatly assist us in maximizing and targeting our education and intervention resources to prevent injuries and save lives."